Filing and index system



Oct. 1933- LE ROI E. HUTCHINGS ,92

FILING AND. INDEX SYSTEM F-iledllay 25, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet I Oct. 3, 1933- LE ROI E. HUTCHINGS FILING AND INDEXSYSTEM Filed May 25, 1931' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1933- 77 LE ROI E. HUVI'CHINGSY 1,929,095

FILING AND INDEX SYSTEI Filed ma 25 5931 4 sheets sbeet s Le Roi E.Hu1;c1o1'ns Oct. 3, 1933- LE ROI E. HUTCHINGS FILING AND INDEX SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Shoot 4 Jmnmtoo i Ellulc Filed lay 25, 1931 Patented Oct. 3, 1933 UNITED] STATES PATENT OFFICE 1m... ammo mnnx srs'rnu Le lot it. Hntehings, Stamford, Coma, amignor to Remington Rand Inc Buffalo, N. Y.

Application May 25, 1931. Serial No. 539,955

ltclaiml.

of horizontal slidable drawers are supported by an encasing cabinet, the contents of the file, if they be sheets or the like, bein usually disposed parallel to the front face of the cabinet so that'the drawers need not be fully opened except to extract files at their extreme rear. The drawers are usually disposed one above the other so that when one drawer-is open, lower drawers are inaccessible for the purpose of removing their contents or examining them. In the sliding drawer type of cabinet, floor space must be provided which is considerably in excess of twice the area of the cabinet since the drawers when opened extend beyond the front face of the device a dis- 'tance substantially equal to its depth and since additional space is of course necessary for the operator or' filing clerk. Due to the disposition of the files within the the cabinet it is impossible to so index the latter that the position of any particular file in the cabinet maybe determined except upon opening of the drawer containing it. Other disadvantages, including the difficulty of rendering sliding drawers easy of operation when they are heavily loaded, arepresent in this type of construction. v

The aim of the present invention is to provide a filing device which is more economical of floor space and which will support its contents in such manner that any file in any filing compartment 'may be extracted or examined'without the necessity of closing any other container, should it be open, and in which the position of each file may be readily ascertained before any compartmerit or container is opened. The device comprises a housing cabinet, similar in exterior appearance to the usual cabinet, provided with one or more filing containers mounted for rocking movement, about an axis parallel to the front face of the device, to open or closed position. The front face of the container, that is, the upright face whenthe device is open, comprises the front closure of the device, serving'as the bottom or floor of the filing compartment when the device is open. The containers may be arranged one above the otheras are the drawers in the usual type of filing cabinet and are preferably arranged on two sides of the cabinet in order to reduce the cost of the supporting structure, one such cabinet serving to house two separate tiers of containers.

closed position. In open position the containan upper container is open, and since the cen- Lintels are provided above and below each container on the faces of the cabinet for completely closing the latter when the containers are in closed position, and means are provided on the closure portions of the containers for cooperating so with these lintels to prevent removal of the containers from the cabinet except upon tipping them about the axes of the closure, guide means being provided to enable the containers to be removed upon such tipping.

As the containers can not be removed except upon tipping, the locking means may comprise means movable into the path of the containers in tipping, thus preventing their removal. The files or contents if they be of sheet or like form are disposed normal to the opening faces of the cabinet with their edges adiacent to such -faces so that they will be exposed for examination or removal without disturbing adjacent files upon opening of the containers. In order to prevent the files from being thrown out of the containers into the cabinet interior when the containers are closed, means are provided for abutment with the upper edges of them in the interior of the cabinet. Y

Each container is so supported that its center of gravity will be disposed but slightly to one side of the axis of tipping in order that the containers will be held by gravity in either open or ers will extend only slightly beyond the front' face of the cabinet so that the contents of a lower container may be extracted or examined when ter of gravity of the contents is moved only slightly during" the movement of the container from open to closed position only a small amount of effort isvrequired to effect such movement. Since, in open position the containers will extend only slightly beyond the front face of the cabinet, the devices require substantially the same amount of floor space in any position, this being considerably less than that required by a cabinet of the usual type of the same capacity.

These and other objects and advantages, including those arising from the details of structure and structural relationships of the component parts of the device, will become apparent from the following description of typical embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a complete perspective view of a filing cabinet according to the present invention, having four file compartments on one face thereof, One of them being shown in full open position 110 and another being shown in partially open position.

2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the device shown in Fig. 1, the plane of the section being at right angles to the front of the cabinet.

Fig. 3 is a'fragmentary perspective view of an open file compartment, including the contents thereof and indexing means therefor.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the file containers removed from the cabinet.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing a portion of the locking device.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken in a plane passing through a'pivotal axis of a file container and showing the operative connection of the latter to the supporting cabinet structure.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail perspective view disclosing the details of the connection of the front lintels of the cabinet to the side wall structure thereof.

Fig. 8 is a detail section taken approximately on line 8-8 of Fig. 4 and showing one mode of connection of the closure portion of the file container to a side wall thereof.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view disclosing the manner of connecting the movable file follower to the supporting wall of the file container.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the clip which forms the connecting means shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section .similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified cabinet structure.

Fig..12 is a plan sectional view showing the means for supporting the file container upon the cabinet, the parts being those disclosed in 18. 11.

8. 13 is a side elevational view of an interior portion of the' cabinet shown in Figs. llsnd 12.

As shown in Fig. 1, the cabinet comprises a base and a top "21 provided respectively with lintels 22 and 23 for engaging the lower and upper edges of the adjacent containers. The base and top are connected by upright members 24-which are preferably of channel form, the flanges of the channels being provided with laterally extended portions 25 to which are secured the side members or panels 26. The uprights 24 are preferabLv disposed adjacent the corners of the cabinet and are joined at each compartment level by transverse members-27, which may be of similar form, having flange portions 28 for engagement with the side members 26.

The containers 29 may be supported by inclined guide members 31 which may be secured to the members 24 and 27 and which slope downwardly from the opening faces of the cabinet into the interior thereof, the lower ends of the guides being closed as indicated at 32. Each container 29 preferably comprises a closure panel 33 which the device it will be understood that the containers may be moved from the closed position depicted at the upper right of Fig. 2, about the axis of the trunnions 36 to the position shown at the upper left of the figure.

The container structure may be described more specifically with reference to Figsy4, 8 and 9, wherein the walls 33 and 34 are shown as comprising a single sheet of metal, the portion 33 having at its forward or free edge a return bent portion 37 supporting a reinforcing strip 38. The ,free edge of the portion 34 is bent inwardly as shown in Fig. 9 at 39 and to its outer face is secured a reinforcing bar 41. The side wall may also be formed of the same sheet of metal which comprises the parts 33 and 34, being bent from the plane of the wall 34 at right angles thereto and at right angles to the wall 33 and being secured along one edge to the portion 33 by an upwardly turned flange portion 42 of the latter. The free edge of the wall 35 may be arcuate in form as shown in Fig. 4 and preferably has an outturned flange 43 for reinforcing purposes. As shown in Fig. 8 the wall 33 may be extended laterally upon the wall 35 in order to provide a rib 44 for the purpose of strengthening the file container and for sealing the space between the container walls 35 and the cabinet side panels 26, which must be provided for the guide member 31 and the means 36, 36.

In order to provide additional support for the file contents a follower plate 45 may be provided. This member is movable longitudinally of the container being guided by a clip 46 which engages the free edge of the wall 34, the flange 39, and the reinforcing bar 41. It may comprise a pair of spaced angle members 47 each having one leg secured to the followers 45 and another leg 48 secured to the upper leg 49 of angularly shaped member 51, the latter having a lower flange 52 for engaging the lower edge of the bar 41; Downwardly extended lugs 53 may be provided on the legs 48 of the angle members 47 for engagement with the edge of the flange 39 of the wall 34. The member 49 is preferably formed of resilient material so that the plate 45 may be removed when its function, which willbe more fully described hereinafter, has been completed.

The vertical edges of the side members 26 of the cabinet may be provided with depth-appearing portions 58 lying in the plane of the opening faces of the cabinet and terminating in rearwardly extending flanges 59. The latter may be cut away at intervals to receive lintel members 61 which extend along the upper and lower edges of the containers. The lower edge of each lintel including the lower edge of the member 23 is provided with a horizontal flange portion 63 extending inwardly from the face of the cabinet a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the edge 29,37 of the containers and terminating in downwardly and thence upwardly extending portions 64 which serve as abutments when the latter are in closed position, the upwardly extending portions functioning as a reinforcement and as cam means for preventing the catching of file edges when the containers are opened or closed.

The upper edge of the members 22 and 61 slope inwardly and downwardly as indicated at '70 to provide surfaces below the lower edges of the compartments in closed position. Angle members 65 may be telescoped within the'lintels and within openings cut in the upright members 24 as shown in Fig. 7 for securely joining the lintels to the side walls of the cabinet. It will be understood that when the containers are in closed position as depicted in Fig. 2 the lower. and outer edge of each will lie adjacent the upper edge of the lintel and that the edge37 of each will lie in the recess provided by the flanges 63 and 64 of the lintel. When it is desired to remove a container from the cabinet it may be moved outwardly along the .path defined by the guide means removal of the containers it is therefore necessary to merely provide means to prevent the compartments from-being tipped so that the same locking means may be utilized to preventboth opening the cabinet and removal of the containersfrom it.

The means illustrated comprises an upright and vertically movable bar 6'1 to which. is attached compartment abutting means 68, the latter comprising small blocks, preferably formed of sound deadening material, attached to the bar 67 by stirrups 69. The stirrups may slidably engage horizontal stop members 71, which extend between the side walls of the cabinet, and which are cut away at their ends to slidably receive the bar 67. The latter is connected to one arm of a bell crank lever 72 pivoted to one side wall, the lever having its other arm connected to a rod 73 which is provided at its end with a conventional sliding lock 74. The latter may be slidably mounted in a tubular casing 75 provided with an opening for receiving the locking-detent 76 of the member .74. A'sprlng 77 may be provided in the casing 75 to urgethe link '73 outwardly, or to the left as viewed in Figs. 2 and 5, to cause the rod 67 and the. blocks 68 to be depressed. Upon pressing .the .lock 74 inwardly against the compression of'the spring '17 and allowing the detent 76 to engage in the opening formed in the casing, the bar 67 and the block 68 will be raised so that the latter will lie within the path of tipping movement of the container and will thus prevent opening of the container and prevent tipping of it to such a degree as to allow the upper edges thereof to be freed from the flanges 63 of the super- .Jacent lintels to allow removal of the containers.

'considerable distance below the upper edges of the containers.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, stops and are mounted on the side panels 35 of the containers for abutment with the upper and lower sides, respectively, of the guides 31 when the containers are in open and closed positions. It is preferred that these stops be of sound deadening material to render operation of the device silent, and that they be so portioned with respect to the cabinet that, as illustrated in Kg. 2, the edge 3'! of the, container will be slightly spaced from the lintel flange 64 when the stop 50 is in abutment with the guide.

.Index strips 78 may be secured to the lintels as shown in 3 and may bear indexing indicia 79 which may correspond to and serve to indicate the position of the flles'or filed matter within the container. Sub-indexes or inclextabs attached to index plates or to the files may be arranged along the forward and upper edges of tiles or along the front edges thereof as indicated at 80 in Fig. 3

The index 78 therefore serves as a master guide for locatingthetabs 80. it will be noted that during all movements; off-the containers, the contents will bear the some positions relative to the index so that the position of any file may be determined before opening the cabinet.

. As may be determined from Fig. 2, the center of gravity of the flle containers isbut slightly removed from the axis 'of the tip so that the con tainers, while held in either open orclosed position by gravity, may be operated with the exertion of slight effort. The. stops 40 and 50, if they be of flexible material, and the resilience of the walls-35, will serve to deaden the force of impact when the containers are forcibly closed, and will thus reduce the tendency of the file contents to be tossed into the cabinet interior over the flange 39. I The follower plate 45 is movable along the container in a path parallel to the open face of the cabinet and may function to support the flies in the container inthe positions indicated by the indicia on the index strip '18, and will thus cooperate with the latter to maintain the accuracy of the indexing means when only a few flies are placed in one container. When the container is completely filled, so that each .flle will be supported in its proper position by the others, the follower may be removed.

In the modified construction depicted in Figs. 11, 12 and 13 the same general cabinet and drawer construction is present, a different form of supporting means being provided for the flle containers. As clearly shown in Fig. 13 the supporting means comprises a pair of substantially arcuate guide members 81 and 82 respectively, each guide member being arcuate about the forward portion of the adjacent guide member. Guides 81 and 82 are closed at their inner ends as indicated at 83' and .at their forward ends terminate in open-and upwardly extending trackways 84. A pair of trunnions 85 and 86 are secured to the sides of the container and are respectively journalled in the guides 81 and 82. It will be noted that when the container is in closed position, as

depicted at the right side of Figs. 11' and 12, the

trunnion 85 will be at the outer or open end of the guide 81 and the pintle 86 will be at the inner or closed end 83 of the guide 82. As the container is moved to open position the pintle 85 will be moved to the inner end of the guide 81 and the pintle 86 will be moved to the outer end of the guide 82. As the axis of drawer tipping is always disposed along the guide members 81 and 82 and as the center of gravity of the containers is slightly to one side of this axis in either open or closed position, the container will be held by gravity in both positions without any additional supporting means. In order to remove the con.- tainers from the cabinet'it is necessary to exert an outward and upward pressure on the container in order to retain the pintle 86 at the outer end of the guide 83 and to move the pintle 85 also to the outer end of its guide 81, wherc-= upon the container may be lifted upwardly, the pintles moving outwardly through the track portions 84, to effect removal of the containers from the cabinet.

What is claimed is: v

1. In a filing device, a cabinet having an open front and guides extending downwardly and rearwardly from said front, a container having trunnions engaged in the guides and normally held by gravity at the inner ends thereof, said to further slam the location of any desired file.-

trunnions permitting the container to be tipped therabout from closed to open position, means on the container abutting the cabinet when in closed position for preventing removal of the container by sliding the trunnions in the guides, and means for preventing 'tipping of the container, whereby said means may prevent removal of the container from the cabinet. I

2. In a filing device, a cabinet having side w and an open front, a container supported on the side walls for pivotal movement to open and closed positions about an axis parallel to the front, said container having a front wall servin as a closure for the cabinet when the container is closed and as a fioor when the container is opened, a movable bar having means thereon in the path of movement of the container from closed to open position to prevent movement of said container, and means for moving the bar to and from a position wherein said first'named means is clear of said path of movement.

3. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and an open front, a container supported on the side walls for pivotal movement to open and closed position about an axis parallel to the front, a stop member-disposed adjacent the rear of the container when the latter is in closed position for preventing its contents from being displaced, a locking bar slidably supported by the stop and having means thereon for engaging the container to prevent movement thereof, and means for sliding the locking bar to operative and inoperative positions.

4. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and opposed open faces, a pair of containers supported by the side walls for movement about axes parallel to the open faces of the cabinet, a

, stop member extending between the containers,

a bar guided for vertical movement on said memher and having means thereon for engaging the containers to hold them against movement when the bar is inoperative position, means for movingthe bar to operative and inoperative positions, and means for locking the bar in operative position.

5. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and an open face, a container supported by the side walls for pivotal movement to open and closed positions, said container having a -wall forming a closure for said open face of the cabinet when in closed position and a fioor for the container when in open position, and a lintel extending along the upper edge of said wall when the device is closed, said lintel having an inwardly and thence downwardly extended flangefor seating said upper edge, said flange terminating in an upwardly and inwardly sloping portion functioning to guide the file contents when the container is moved from closed to open position.

6. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and an open" face, a container removably supported by the side walls for pivotal movement to open and closed positions, said container having a wall forming a closure for the cabinet when in closed position, fixed upwardly inclined guide means on the cabinet side walls for causing the container tobe moved upwardly for removal from the cabinet,. and a lintel extending along the upper edge of said wall when the container is in closed position, said lintel having a substantially horizontal face and cooperating with said guide means through the inclination thereof for preventing removal of the container when it is in closed position.

7. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and an open face, a container removably supported by the side walls for pivotal movement to open and closed positions, said container having a wall forming a closure for the cabinet when in closed position, guide means for causing the container to be moved upwardly for removal from the cabinet, a lintel extending along the upper edge of saidwall when the container is in closed position, said lintel having a substantially horizontal face for preventing removal of the container when it is in closed position, and an upwardly and rearwardly sloping face serving as a guide to prevent displacement of the filecontents should the latter engage the lintel during opening movement of the container.

8. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and an open front, guide means on the side walls, a container having trunnions engaged in the guide means, the latter supporting the container for rocking movement about the trunnion axes and guiding the container upwardly for removal from the cabinet means on the container abutting the cabinet when in closed position for preventing removal of the container by movement guided-by the guide means, and means for preventing tipping of the container, whereby said means may prevent removal of the container from the cabinet.

9. A container for a filing device comprising a pair of angularly related panels and side members joining the opposite sides of the panels and disposed at right angles thereto, a reinforcing strip on one side of and extending along-the free edge of one panel, said one panel terminating in a flange extending in a direction opposite to said strip, a follower .plate in said container substantially parallel ,to' said side members, and a flexible clip Joined to the follower plate and slidably engaged about said fiange and strip.

'10. A fiexible clip for supporting .a follower plate in a file container, comprising an angular member having a flange at the free end of one leg thereof substantially parallel to and co-directional with the other leg, means on the other leg for engaging a follower plate, and alug on said other leg extending parallel to and co-directional with, said one leg.

11. In a filing device, a cabinet having opposed side walls, a pair of arcuate guides on each of said walls, each guide of one pair being arcuate about an end of the other guide of the pair, a container disposed between said walls, and a pair of trunnions on each side of the container for engagement in said guides. I

12. In a filing device; a cabinet having opposite side walls and'an open face therebetw'een, a pair of guide members on each of said walls, one guide of each pair being disposed above the other, each of the guides of each pair being arcuate about the end of the other adjacent said face of the cabinet, the ends of the guides adjacent said face each terminating in open and upwardly extending trackways, and a container extending between said side walls and having a trunnion engaged in each of said guides. I

13. In a filing device, a cabinet having side walls and an open front, a container movable into open and closed positions in said cabinet throughsaid open front and presenting an open side through the front of the cabinet in open position and receiving indexed files therein one behind the other transversely of the cabinet between the sides and in substantially perpendicular relation to said front, a lintel extending across the cabinet over the open front, a series of primary index indicia in spaced sequential order on said lintel and extending over said containerbetween the sides of said cabinet, spaced secondary index indicia on said lintel arranged in indexed order relative to said primary indicia, guides in said container for dividing indexed files into groups, said guides being arranged insubstantially perpendicular relation to the plane of said front, and index indicia on said guides corresponding to said secondary index indicia, said guides being arranged in line with corresponding secondary index indicia, whereby the position of indexed material in said file is indicated by the index on said lintel in either open or closed positions of said container and cooperates with said guides in indicating the position of filed matter when said container is open.

14. In a filing device, a file container comprising a piece of sheet metal formed to provide a closure panel, a supporting floor portion extending at right angles from one side of said closure portion, a return bend portion on the other side of said closure panel, a strip mounted in said return bend portion and extending the length of said panel, side walls extending laterally from the endsof said supporting floor portion, rib members on the ends of said panel secured to a margin of the adjacent side wall for cooperation to provide a substantially rigid container structure.

15. In a filing device, a file container comprising a piece of sheet metal formed to provide a of adjacent end walls and cooperating to form a rigid tubular portion extending across the ends 'of said container, a laterally extending flange on the free side of said supporting floor portion, and a rigid bar mounted on the free side of said sup porting floor portion and cooperating with said return bend and ribs to provide a substantially rigid container structure.

16. In a filing device, a cabinet having side Walls and an open face, a container supported by, the side walls for pivotal movement to open and closed positions, said container having a wall forming a closure for said open face of the cabiinet when in closed position and a floor for the container when in open position, and a lintel extending along the upper edge of said wall when the device is closed, said lintel having an inwardly and thence downwardly extended flange for seating said upper edge, said flange terminating in an integral guide portion functioning to guide the file contents when the container is moved from closed to open position.

LE ROI E. HUTCI-IINGS. 

